Caption: Magnetic north pole research. Geophysicists triumphantly holding a banner after identifying the precise location of the magnetic north pole (blue and yellow column). Scientists have tracked the location of the magnetic north pole for almost 200 years, showing that it moves up to 40 kilometres per year. This phenomenon, known as polar drift, is caused by variations in the flow of molten iron in Earth's outer core, which changes the orientation of Earth's magnetic field. The magnetic pole lies roughly 950 kilometres from the geographic north pole in the Canadian Arctic.